The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Many metallic components such as those utilized in vehicular applications are subject to fatigue, wear, erosion, and even internal stresses which affect the components molecular structure. Nearly all structural weaknesses are related to vibrational problems associated with resonance behavior (that is the natural frequency being excited by operational forces). Detecting the amount of wear a certain component has endured has generally been by pure visual observation and measurement. The thickness of a component such as a brake rotor can be measured, and compared to original specifications, but this can only determine the amount of material which has been worn off, or still remains. These types of measurements yield no information as to the molecular structure of the component, which may have drastically changed due to micro-fractures, austentizing or deformation. As parts wear, fatigue and/or begin to break down, the resonant frequency and/or amplitude begin to change, as well. In most cases these features show a slow and linear degradation.
Tests such as magna fluxing have been developed which can show the amount of wear and/or molecular and crystal structure changes of the component, but cannot determine the remaining performance level of the component. It is therefore desirous to have a means of determining the remaining performance level of a component, whether it is new or used, which can quickly and accurately test, record, and compare the results with a database yielding the remaining performance level of the individual component.